The Hummingbird Chick Has Flown!

I’ve previously posted up a couple updates (here and here) in regards to the earlier discovery/progress of the two Anna’s hummingbird chicks nested in the laurel tree overhanging our Silver Lake frontyard, but there’s been a whole bunch of some serious pint-sized tragedy and triumph these last few days and it’s been enough to stress out this surrogate hummingbird uncle/bodyguard.

First there was the way-too-early exit of one of the chicks from the nest Sunday, followed by the baby’s recovery (whew!) and immediate installation into what I can immodestly describe as a Righteously Genius Purchase s of a high fruit-picking contraption (pictured above) bought the day before in case it might serve as a substitute nest. Which it now did.

But the next day was a double negative whammalama. Not only did the chick launch from the picker sometime in the night to god knew where, but we also discovered that its sibling, still in the nest, had died. Dejected at being unsuccessful in locating the wayward chick I’d resigned myself to its loss only to have my grief compounded when one of our cats brought in what I figured was its corpse (that I solemnly buried) — until I went down to get the mail much later that Tuesday afternoon and what was just sitting there in front of the mailbox, but holyfuckingshit: the entirely not-dead chick looking at me like “where have you been!?”

So back into the picker it went where mom paid it many visits and gave it many feedings and there it hung out all night Tuesday and all of Wednesday working its wing strength up, and here we are Thursday morning and literally but a few minutes after snapping the pic above, the chick has successfully fledged, having lifted off and flown to a high branch in the tree of its birth where it now sits safely while plotting its next hopefully successful and safe flights.

I couldn’t be more proud, happy or relieved. But just the same, the cats are staying indoors today.